Visa is piloting agentic payments with BILL and Billtrust, exploring how AI agents can support business payment workflows. The initiative reflects a major shift in payments: AI is moving beyond recommending actions toward helping execute financial tasks. For businesses, agentic payments could eventually reduce manual work across invoicing and payment processes, provided appropriate controls and authorization are in place. The pilot highlights Visa’s efforts to help shape the infrastructure for the next generation of AI-powered commerce.
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Insight of the Day
Crypto and TradFi are converging through M&A
Cross-market M&A between crypto and TradFi has exceeded $22.8B in announced deal value since January 2024, with $15.4B of deal value in 2025 alone.
TradFi and fintech firms are acquiring crypto exchanges, stablecoin infrastructure and wallets, while crypto firms are buying transfer agents, brokerages and derivatives infrastructure. Both sides are buying what they lack to expand beyond their native markets.
Non-US market hours still drive Bitcoin’s largest moves. Despite the swift rise of Bitcoin spot ETFs, IBIT being the fastest ETF on record to hit $50 billion in AUM, a 10% or greater price move week still usually prints outside NYSE hours. Since January 2021, Asia has owned 51 of the 85 weeks with at least a 10% one-way move, and the largest share of the variance. Even so, US market hours have taken a larger piece of those big weeks, 24% of the variance before the January 2024 spot ETF listings, 33% after. While Asia is still the default, US hours have become a bigger part of the move than they used to be.
Perpetual futures trading volume linked to Real World Assets (“RWAs”) reached $152 billion in July 2026, up ~6x since the start of the year and more than 100x YoY. RWAs now represent 33% of all perp decentralized exchange (DEX) volume.
Trading spans commodities such as crude oil, gold and silver, major indices including the Nasdaq-linked XYZ100 and S&P 500, and equities such as SK Hynix, Micron, SanDisk and SpaceX.
Perp DEXs have emerged as a 24/7 global derivatives layer, offering continuous access, liquidity, leverage, price discovery and cross-market arbitrage for assets historically constrained by market hours, geography and private-market access.
New-chain launches are far from over, but the playbook is changing. Robinhood Chain crossed $10 billion of DEX volume in 22 days, showing how an established consumer platform can bootstrap liquidity and activity far faster than a standalone network building distribution from scratch. More than 80% of early DEX volume was memecoin-driven, but roughly $70 million of tokenized real-world assets and more than $400 million of stablecoins point to a broader financial stack taking shape. Building on the success of chain integrations by Coinbase and Telegram, Robinhood may be the turning point where app-owned chains become a repeatable vertical integration strategy across distribution, trading, settlement, and economics.
Curated News
💳 Payments
EPC Launches SCARLET to Standardise EU Digital Identity Wallet Acceptance for Payments
The European Payments Council has launched SCARLET, an initiative to standardise acceptance of EU digital identity wallets for payments. The effort aims to make digital identity acceptance more consistent across payment experiences in Europe.
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Pay by Bank Sector Poised for Growth, Survey Says
A new survey points to growth potential for Pay by Bank services. The trend reflects increasing interest in account-to-account payments as consumers and businesses explore alternatives to traditional card-based transactions.
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UK Asks Apple to Widen Access to Its Payment Technology
The UK is asking Apple to broaden access to its payment technology, raising questions about competition and access to digital payment infrastructure. The outcome could have implications for businesses seeking to build payment services around mobile devices.
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Mastercard Demonstrates Technology That Helps Agents Pay for Digital Services
Mastercard has demonstrated technology designed to let AI agents pay for digital services. The development adds to the industry’s efforts to build payment infrastructure for transactions initiated by AI systems.
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Evervault Launches Browser Tokens for Secure Agentic Payments
Evervault has launched browser tokens designed to support secure agentic payments. The technology targets security challenges that arise when AI agents interact with payment systems and handle sensitive transaction information.
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Checkout.com Expands into In-Person Payments
Checkout.com is expanding into in-person payments as merchant demand drives its next phase of growth. The move broadens its reach beyond online transactions and into physical retail payment experiences.
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🏦 Banking
Mobile Wallet Operator GCash Parent Mynt Ends Flat After Record Philippine IPO
Mynt, the parent company of Philippine mobile wallet GCash, ended flat after a record IPO in the Philippines. The listing marks a significant development for the country’s digital finance sector and puts a major mobile-wallet business in the public markets.
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NAB to Cut 2,500 Jobs as Bank Moves to Simplify Operations
National Australia Bank plans to cut 2,500 jobs as it seeks to simplify operations. The announcement highlights the continuing pressure on traditional banks to streamline their businesses amid changing technology and operating costs.
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Google Cloud Outage in UK Eases After Impacting Digital Banks and Public Sector Websites
A Google Cloud outage in the UK affected digital banks and public-sector websites before easing. The incident underscores how financial services increasingly depend on cloud infrastructure and how third-party disruptions can affect multiple organisations simultaneously.
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Blackstone and Warburg Weigh IntraFi Sale at Over $10 Billion
Blackstone and Warburg are reportedly considering a sale of IntraFi valued at more than $10 billion. The potential transaction could become a significant deal in financial infrastructure and banking services.
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First Horizon Bank and Greenlight Bring Family Financial Tools to Kids and Teens
First Horizon Bank and Greenlight are partnering to provide family financial tools for children and teenagers. The initiative focuses on helping younger users build financial skills through tools designed for families.
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💼 Fintech
Starling Bank Unveils AI Agent Capable of 17-Second Financial Crime Investigations
Starling Bank has unveiled an AI agent reportedly capable of completing financial crime investigations in 17 seconds. The development highlights how banks are exploring AI to accelerate fraud and financial-crime workflows that traditionally require substantial manual investigation.
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Hyperlayer Raises £19.5 Million Series A to Scale Its Banking Technology
Hyperlayer has raised £19.5 million in Series A funding to scale its banking technology. The investment gives the company additional capital to expand its offering in the financial infrastructure market.
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Google Helps Huntington Bank Deploy AI-Powered Operating System
Google is helping Huntington Bank deploy an AI-powered operating system. The initiative reflects banks’ growing interest in integrating AI into internal operations and modernising how employees access and use technology.
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Meow Secures Strategic Investment
Meow has secured a strategic investment to support its business development. The funding highlights continued investor interest in fintech platforms and financial infrastructure.
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US Fintech Firm Ramp Seeks OCC Trust Bank Charter
Ramp is seeking a trust bank charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The application signals its interest in expanding its regulated financial capabilities and reflects a wider trend of fintech firms pursuing a more direct role in banking.
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🪙 Crypto
Bitget Plans to Buy Thai Crypto Exchange GMO-Z.com
Bitget plans to acquire Thai crypto exchange GMO-Z.com, according to the report. The proposed deal points to continued consolidation in the digital-asset industry and the strategic importance of regional markets.
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📈 WealthTech
First Horizon Bank and Greenlight Bring Family Financial Tools to Kids and Teens
The First Horizon–Greenlight partnership also reflects growing interest in financial education and family-oriented money management. Digital tools aimed at younger users can help introduce budgeting and other financial habits early.
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⚖️ Regulation
Ramp Applies for US National Trust Bank Charter
Ramp’s application for a US national trust bank charter places regulatory strategy at the centre of its growth plans. Securing a charter would depend on regulatory review and approval.
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🌍 Other
Sustainable Finance Live: How Can We Power Regenerative Finance?
A discussion at Sustainable Finance Live explores how regenerative finance can be advanced. The topic reflects broader interest in financial approaches that aim to support environmental and social outcomes alongside economic activity.
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NatWest Faces Union Backlash After Asking Staff to Spend at Least Two Days a Week in the Office
NatWest is facing union opposition following a request for staff to spend at least two days per week in the office. The dispute highlights continuing tensions around workplace flexibility and return-to-office policies in financial services.
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Salmon Raises $140 Million to Deepen Its Philippine Lending Push
Philippine fintech Salmon has raised $140 million to expand its lending business. The financing underscores investor interest in digital lending in Southeast Asia and gives the company additional resources to pursue growth.
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